🔥 Rediscovering the Ekklesia: Why Many Followers of Jesus Are Moving Away from the Words “Church” and “Christian”
There’s an interesting phenomenon taking place in the Body of Christ today. Many sincere followers of Jesus — men and women who love God deeply, walk in holiness, and live on mission — are no longer comfortable using words like “church” or “Christian.”
At first glance, it may sound like rebellion or disillusionment. But if you listen closely, you’ll hear something much deeper stirring beneath the surface. It’s not rejection. It’s reformation.
These believers aren’t abandoning Jesus — they’re longing to recover the purity of what He originally designed. They’re recognizing how far we’ve drifted from the blueprint and hearing a call from the Spirit to return to the simplicity and power of the Kingdom.
🕊️ What Jesus Actually Said
When Jesus declared, “I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18), He wasn’t talking about a building, a service, or an organization. The word He used wasn’t church at all. It was ekklesia.
In the first-century world, ekklesia described a governing assembly — a group of citizens called out to represent the authority and policies of a king or government in a specific region.
So when Jesus said, “I will build My ekklesia,” He was announcing His plan to raise up a people who would carry Heaven’s authority and manifest Heaven’s culture on the earth. Not spectators in pews — ambassadors in power. Not a Sunday event — a Kingdom movement.
🏛️ How “Ekklesia” Became “Church”
As the Gospel spread through the Roman Empire, the nature of the movement began to shift. By the 4th century, under Emperor Constantine, the faith became institutionalized.
The dynamic, Spirit-led ekklesia of the Book of Acts was gradually replaced by a structured, state-approved religion. The Greek word ekklesia was substituted with kyriakon, meaning “belonging to the Lord.” That word later became church in English.
The change may seem small, but it completely altered our understanding of what Jesus built.
A kyriakon is a sacred building; an ekklesia is a sent people. A kyriakon gathers to observe; an ekklesia gathers to legislate the will of Heaven. A kyriakon meets inside walls; an ekklesia influences the world outside of them.
We stopped seeing ourselves as Heaven’s governing body and started behaving like religious consumers. But Jesus never came to start a religion. He came to establish a Kingdom through a people filled with His Spirit.
✝️ The Word “Christian” — A Label He Never Gave Us
The same distortion happened with the word Christian. That title wasn’t given by Jesus or His disciples. It was coined by outsiders in Antioch (Acts 11:26).
Originally, the followers of Jesus called themselves disciples, believers, or saints. They were not members of a religion — they were citizens of a Kingdom and carriers of the King’s presence.
Over time, Christianity evolved into an organized system with doctrines, traditions, and divisions. It became something you belong to, rather than a life you embody.
Today, when some people say they no longer call themselves “Christians,” they’re not rejecting Jesus. They’re rejecting what the word has come to represent — centuries of institutional religion, political compromise, and cultural hypocrisy.
Their hearts cry out for something real — not religion about Jesus, but relationship with Him.
🌍 A Hunger for Authenticity
A deep hunger is rising in the hearts of believers everywhere. They long to experience what the early disciples lived — a Kingdom family walking in unity, authority, and love.
They’re done with empty religion. They want to see the power and presence of God transforming lives and shaping nations.
This isn’t cynicism — it’s conviction. It’s not rebellion — it’s restoration.
The Holy Spirit is awakening a generation that will no longer settle for man-made systems. They’re hearing the call to step into their true identity as the ekklesia — the governing Body of Christ on earth, representing the will of the King in every sphere of society.
🔥 Redeeming the Words
We don’t have to throw away the words church or Christian. But we must redeem their meaning.
When we say church, let it mean ekklesia — the called-out family of God, carrying His authority into every sphere of life. When we say Christian, let it mean Christ-like — people in whom the life of Jesus is fully seen and expressed.
The question isn’t whether we attend church. The question is: Are we the Church? Are we living as the ekklesia Jesus said He would build?
👑 The Kingdom Jesus Came to Establish
God is not reviving a religion. He is awakening a Kingdom.
This Kingdom isn’t built on programs, titles, or personalities. It’s built on sons and daughters who know who they are in Christ and walk in Kingdom authority.
The ekklesia is rising again — a people of presence and power who live from intimacy with the King and advance His purposes in the earth.
This is the Church the gates of hell cannot prevail against. It’s not made of stone and glass, but of living stones — men and women filled with His Spirit, governing with His heart.
⚔️ The Call to Return
The reformation God is bringing isn’t about new models or structures. It’s about recovering our purpose and identity.
We were never called to build monuments. We were called to disciple nations.
We were never called to maintain institutions. We were called to manifest the Kingdom.
This is the hour to rediscover the ekklesia. To rise up as the sons and daughters of God who carry His presence into every arena of culture.
The world doesn’t need more religion. It needs a revelation of Jesus through His people.
The true Church is not defined by what it’s called, but by what it carries. And what we carry — the Spirit of the Living God — is powerful enough to transform the world.
